The Burning Skies Of Gallifrey
by AgentNoSmile
Summary: The Tenth Doctor can't sleep. On and on he is plagued by the devastation of the Time War and his inability to save the Time-Lords. What if Gallifrey was not destroyed but only hidden? A wealth of difficult decisions will have to be made. Is Ten strong enough to make them? Would he choose arose or Gallifrey? Being a Time-Lord and saving many, or giving it up to keep Rose? Ten/Rose


Rose blinked her eyes a few times to clear the fog of sleep. She turned and reached out to the right side of the bed, and frowned upon discovering it was empty.

"Doctor?" she spoke gently, her voice still thick with remnants of sleep. When no reply came to her, she slid her lithe, pale legs out from under the satin sheets and stretched the contours of her body as she rose to stand. She pulled on her long ash-grey cardigan and slinked out into the TARDIS' main console room. There she found the Doctor, fully dressed in his brown suede coat, black and blue pinstripe suit, blue shirt, black and red patterned tie and red converse. His hair was messy, but she smiled vaguely at its latent charm. He had his glasses perched high upon the bridge of his nose as he flipped various controls, and peered from screen to screen in his usual, animated way. Rose padded lightly down the stairs and ran her hand up his back where it rested upon his slender shoulder;

"Doctor?" she spoke in gentle tones, he seemed distracted and yet unperturbed by her sudden appearance.

"Hello," he turned and grinned in that way that made her heard beat furiously, she smiled back unrelentingly.

"It's early, come back to bed," she stroked the back of his neck with her index finger as she talked.

"Can't sleep, gotta keep myself busy," he smiled oddly, almost manically at her, as he continued to pour over the screens before him.

"We don't have to sleep," she smirked playfully and leaned her head on his shoulder, in an attempt to keep him still.

"Oh Rose Tyler, you're insatiable," he smirked back and kissed her cheek;

"If I wasn't so tired," he stroked her cheek, and turned back, his soft brown eyes darting from screen to screen as he studied them.

"What's keeping you awake?" she tiled her head softly. The Doctor's eyes darkened and he clenched his jaw;

"Nothing I can pin-point," he spoke shortly, never turning to look at her, fearful that if he caught her eye, she would see the falsity in his words.

"Let's go on a journey. What do you think? New Earth? Been a while since we saw Novice Hame." His vivacious animation had returned and Rose narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Of course Doctor, whatever you want," she smiled, the same falsity in her smile; they were just two people with secrets. Rose knew deep down that the Doctor couldn't know how much she truly loved him. He bounced around, turning the gravitic anomaliser, and various other switches and levers. The TARDIS jolted and threw both the Doctor and Rose up against the console and back against the large sandy-coloured pillar behind them. The Doctor winced slightly and rubbed his head;

"Ow, every time," he mumbled and brushed down his suit, before holding his hand out to Rose. She took it gladly and hoisted herself up;

"I suppose I'd better get dressed," she smiled softly,

"I'd recommend it," the Doctor grinned and leaned nonchalantly against the pillar and stuffed his hands into the deep pockets of his coat. Rose giggled and smiled at him before disappearing into the hidden back rooms of the TARDIS. She emerged a few minutes later in a casual hooded jacket and pink t-shirt, and black boot-cut jeans. She'd made sure to put on comfortable flat shoes, as the Doctor seemed to have a fondness for running.

"Right then! New Earth! Allons-y!" he grinned and swept her along with him as he headed for the TARDIS doors; she could only laugh and follow him eagerly. He wrenched the doors open and breathed in deeply;

"Ah, I love the smell of apple grass in the morning," he looked back at Rose, his eyes lacking the charismatic glint that usually shone from them, yet his voice betrayed this. Rose linked her slender fingers through the Doctor's longer ones and followed, as he started to run towards the familiar hospital.

"Now, to find Novice Hame!" he piped up, as they slipped through the automatic doors of the gargantuan building...

SEVEN HOURS LATER

The Doctor slipped the silver key into the lock and pulled open the door of the TARDIS. He held it open for Rose to enter first, a key trait of his personality, proving that chivalry was not at all dead. He slung his long suede coat across the sofa in the console room and rubbed his ashen face; the last few months had been unkind to him, and it was beginning to show.

"What shall we do now, Doctor?" Rose spoke softly, her hand resting on the broad shoulders of the man she loved.

"I just want to sleep, I need to sleep," the Doctor replied, flatly. He placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed gently. Rose had anticipated his answer and she nodded, leading him by the hand to their bedroom, beyond the console room. He was too tired to resist her, and he followed gladly, and a little clumsily. He sat upon the royal blue duvet and curled up into a ball. Rose smiled softly and began to undress herself, down to her underwear, before slipping on a t-shirt. She turned back and pulled back the covers, as best she could with the Doctor's form upon them.

"Goodnight, Doctor," she received no response, and when she listened closely, she heard the deep, even breaths emanating from the Doctor's slightly open mouth. She smiled gently and lovingly placed a kiss upon his temple. He moaned softly and she pressed herself against his back, manoeuvring him so she could pull the covers over him. She curled herself around him, and soon found herself falling into an even sleep. She dreamt of many things; the Doctor and herself, the places they'd been, the conventionality of marriage to her lonely angel. She was torn violently from these pleasing fantasies by screams. She took only seconds to realise it was the Doctor. She snapped her eyes open and turned the light on. The Doctor was beside her as he had been when she fell asleep, only now he was drenched in sweat, writhing and rigid with fear, tears flooding his face and choking screams pervading the previously quiet air. She jumped out of bed and ran around to his side, her arms seeking to still his convulsing body.

"Doctor! Doctor, it's me, it's Rose, wake up!" she shook him, desperately trying to stir him from whatever Hell he was locked into. He continued to scream, forming only the beginnings of words and allowing them to jumble.

"Doctor please, you're not making any sense!" she shook him harder still and screamed his name until his eyes snapped open. He sat rigid and motionless as he fought to catch his breath. Each one caught in his throat, causing him to cough and gasp all the more. Rose pulled him tightly against her;

"Oh Doctor, it's alright, whatever it was it can't hurt you anymore, it was just a nightmare," she rubbed his back in small, soothing circles. The Doctor's body was wracked with sobs, and when he had finally calmed enough to speak, his voice was hoarse;

"It will never stop. Oh Rose, it already happened; I-," his voice broke off and Rose searched his eyes for the cause of his anguish.

"What happened? Tell me," she whispered, and took both of his hands in hers, kissing them, and waiting patiently for him to steady himself enough to tell her. He sniffled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath;

"I still remember the darkness of it. Remember isn't the right word. To know the Untempered Schism is to close my eyes. I try to go to sleep but it won't come; it can't." The Doctor sighed and rubbed his bambi brown eyes. Rose tried to search her soul for what it could feel like to be this lonely angel. The Doctor's words distracted her;

"I've carried the burden of the Time War upon my shoulders for centuries; galaxies have formed and died, planets realigned, all but mine," he looked out into the night, his melancholy thoughts cumbersome and cloying. Rose whispered softly;

"No one survived?" The Doctor looked back slowly;

"No one survived," he whispered back and swallowed thickly;

"Only me. Last of the Time-Lords, like I told you before," he half-smiled sadly and shook his head;

"Every night I dream, I replay the Time War, piece by piece, and I despair. I couldn't save them; nobody won," he laughed bitterly.

"But, you can go anywhere. Why can't you go back? Try again? Like we did with my Dad?" Rose replied, and the Doctor smiled softly at her innocence.

"Remember what happened with that? It's a paradox; I can't revisit my own timeline. My people are gone Rose, they're all gone," he sighed heavily and pulled at a thread on his suit jacket;

"I wish so very much that I could take you to see it. To feel the red grass of Gallifrey against your bare feet, see the forest on fire on the second sun's rising, pick a bouquet of silver-tinted leaves, all dusted with snow," he sighed in plaintive nostalgia;

"Sounds amazing," Rose smiled sadly; she didn't want to hurt the Doctor; he'd lost enough.

"Oh it was Rose...it was," his eyes glistened with fresh tears, yet still he smiled;

"Gallifrey; my home, I wish I could look up one last time, and see a burning, orange sky,"


End file.
